Theos-Talk Archives (April 1996 Message tl00599)

THEOSOPHY INTERNATIONAL - AN INTRODUCTION

PART ONE

"Theosophy" is a word deriving from two Greek words meaning "god"
   and "wisdom" respectively.  It was brought into widespread use
   in the English-speaking world by a group of like-minded people
   who, under the inspiration of a Russian woman, Mme. Helena
   Petrovna Blavatsky, formed the first formal Theosophical Society
   in New York in 1875.  The successors to this Society
   incorporated it in Madras, India, in 1905.

The theme of all current theosophical organisations is essentially
   the same - that there is an underlying wisdom-teaching that has
   existed in the world for millenia under different guises, and
   continues to find expression in the world in our own day and
   age.

 From its early beginnings, the "theosophical movement" - as it is
   sometimes called - ran into problems of organisation, authority
   and hierarchy; divisions and schisms were well established by
   the early decades of the twentieth century.

Notwithstanding the derivation of the term "theosophy" - which was
   adopted, and not invented, by the nineteenth century
   theosophists - belief in a personal god was never a requirement
   binding upon theosophists, though those who have such beliefs
   are not exluded. The idea of a non-personal god is not foreign
   to theosophical thought, but again, the question of belief is
   not an issue.  Theosophists generally may be more likely to
   debate and discuss what is meant by "god" in the first place.
   This is because the theosophical societies developed from a
   commitment to three basic objects, which reached an accepted
   formal expression in 1896.

The principal organisation which inherited the apparent intentions
   of the founders of 1875 is still the Adyar (Madras) based
   Theosophical Society, while those who chose to take a different
   path are to be found represented in The United Lodge of
   Theosophists and The Theosophical Society (Pasadena) - both of
   which are based in the U.S.A.  There are also said to be other
   minor theosophical organisations subscribing to the same or a
   similar general ethos.

THEOSOPHY INTERNATIONAL came into being in January, 1996, and was
   the culmination of a number of factors meeting for the first
   time as a result of the rapidly expanding "Information
   Superhighway" of computer technology and the global "Internet"
   which has come to house it.  We shall eneavour to itemise the
   main themes inherent in this development.

1. The Theosophical Society was seen increasingly as authoritarian,
   autocratic, and hierarchical.  With the rapid dissemination of
   information on a worldwide scale the grounds for such a view
   became all too apparent.  At the international level, the
   President of the Society in India had, in recent years, it
   appears, expelled three national sections - which on a smaller
   scale is rather like the President of the United Nations
   unilaterally expelling three of its member countries.  In the
   case of the T.S., this applied to Yugoslavia, Denmark, and
   Canada.

   In the U.S.A., similar problems arose with some of the Society's
   branches, or "Lodges" - and in particular a damaging lawsuit
   with its branch in Boston, Massachusets.  The basic symptom
   underlying the Society's problems seemed (and still seems) to be
   its hierarchical power structure, which while nominally
   democratic, has proved to be very susceptible of manipulation,
   whether at international, national, or local levels.  This has
   resulted, according to the view of many, in an unhealthy
   "control" of opinion and presentation by those in positions of
   authority and power at any given time.

2. The wording of the three objects of the founding society was
   perceived to be "frozen" in the language of the nineteenth
   century; any and all attemps to restate them in words more
   acceptable to modern ears and perceptions were rebuffed, often
   rudely, by those in authority - an increasingly older generation
   of people who seemed both unwilling and unable to move with the
   times.  This latter has been an ongoing problem, and the Society
   has seen its support over the past hundred years dwindle to
   somewhere between ten and fifteen percent of its original
   enthusiastic membership, and this decline continues.

3. Having - however we look at it - moved into a genuinely "New
   Age" a number of theosophically-minded people, not all members
   of the Adyar or any formal organisation, sought to find a way to
   overcome the problems outlined above.  First thoughts were
   obvious: a hierarchical power structure, by its very nature,
   encouraged and fostered the desire to exercise power over
   others, and therefore a revolutionary approach to theosophical
   study and work was required.  The short answer to this was
   "consensus, not control."

4. If the noble ideals of the founders of modern theosophy were to
   survive into the next century, then the language of the three
   objects needed to be brought up to date to reflect that need, to
   prevent the theosophical movement from declining further into
   obscurity and finally into oblivion.  Attempts over the years
   to reform the Society from within seem to have led only to
   further power struggles, which continue to this day, although
   the effort continues, and may yet bear fruit.

As a consequence of the above considerations THEOSOPHY
   INTERNATIONAL was born, and is clearly in very early stages of
   its own development.  However, we have managed to formulate a
   basic statement of purpose, which incorporates the changes -
   principally of attitude - which we feel needed to find
   expression, and most importantly, to provide a "home" in which
   all of us, seekers after truth at many levels and in many ways,
   could feel secure among friends and companions.  In order to
   clarify this, we must turn first to the three objects in their
   original form, and contrast them with their counterparts in the
   Theosophy International statement of intent.

This will be the subject of Part Two of this Introduction.

Alan Bain, April, 1996.

(The views of any of the members of Theosophy International are
   their own, and cannot be considered as any kind of "official"
   policy, for apart from the general statement of intent,
   Theosophy International does not need one).

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THEOSOPHY INTERNATIONAL:
Ancient Wisdom for a New Age
TI@nellie2.demon.co.uk
http://www.garlic.com/~rdon/TI.html